Mechanical components are subjected to vibrations in various fields of technology. These vibrations may arise from the normal operation of a component or a machine or a system, but they could also indicate a defect or a failure of the component, machine or system. For example, vibrations occurring in rotating components, such as vehicle wheels, could indicate an imbalance or be indicative of bearing damage.
Regardless of whether the vibrations in question are related to normal operation or are indicative of a fault condition, there is a need to detect the vibrational behavior of such a mechanical component. Sensor modules can be used for this purpose, which sensor modules may include transmitters for wirelessly transmitting signals indicative of the detected vibrational behavior to a remote receiver. A module configured to detect vibration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,778,146, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Many factors must be taken into account when designing such sensor modules including, for example, easy integration, easy manufacturability, robustness of the module, reliability, and precision of vibration detection. A complex balancing of these factors must be performed to reach a compromise because maximizing one factor, such as robustness, may increase cost and/or decrease the ease of manufacture. On the other hand, increasing the precision of vibration detection may adversely affect the other factors, such as cost and robustness.
There is thus a need to provide a sensor module for detecting a vibrational behavior of a mechanical component that allows for an improved compromise between the above factors, and in particular, that improves vibration detection without adversely affecting cost, robustness and/or ease of manufacture.